Sri Lankan rupee hits record low of 181.85 vs dollar

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COLOMBO, Dec 26 (Reuters) - The Sri Lankan rupee fell to another record low against the dollar on Wednesday, amid pressure due to capital outflows as uncertainty rooted in a political crisis continued to hurt sentiment.

The rupee hit 181.85 against the U.S. dollar, according to market sources, surpassing its Dec. 24 low of 181.67 to the dollar.

The island nation was plunged into crisis in October after President Maithripala Sirisena replaced Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe with former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, without the backing of parliament, leading to protests and downgrades of Sri Lanka’s debt.

Wickremesinghe was reinstated as prime minister last week, but uncertainty due to the 51-day political crisis continued and dented sentiment

The rupee has weakened about 4.8 percent since the political crisis began. It dropped 1.8 percent in November, and has lost 18.5 percent this year. (Reporting by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Richard Borsuk)